Breakdown of В кастрюле варится суп из свежих овощей.
в
in
свежий
fresh
овощ
the vegetable
из
from
суп
the soup
кастрюля
the pot
вариться
to cook
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Questions & Answers about В кастрюле варится суп из свежих овощей.
What does the verb варится mean in this sentence?
It’s the 3rd person singular present tense form of the imperfective verb вариться, meaning “is cooking” (i.e. the soup is in the process of being cooked).
Why is варится used instead of варит?
Without -ся, варит means “someone is cooking (something)” – it’s transitive and names the cook as subject. варится (with -ся) is a middle/reflexive form, focusing on the soup undergoing the action rather than on who does the cooking, similar to a passive construction.
What is the role of the suffix -ся in варится?
The suffix -ся makes the verb reflexive/middle voice. It turns a direct action into something happening to the subject itself. Here it emphasizes that the soup is cooking (being cooked) without mentioning the cook.
Why is суп in the nominative case?
In Russian, the subject of an intransitive or middle-voice verb is in the nominative. Since суп (soup) is what’s cooking (the subject of варится), it appears in the nominative case.
What case is кастрюле and why?
It’s the prepositional case (singular of кастрюля). After the preposition в (in) to indicate location, you use the prepositional case: в кастрюле = “in the pot.”
Why is из followed by свежих овощей? What does из do?
The preposition из means “from” or “made from” and always takes the genitive case. Here из свежих овощей shows the material the soup is made of: “from fresh vegetables.”
Why are свежих овощей in the genitive plural?
Because из requires the genitive. Овощей is the plural genitive of овощи (vegetables), and the adjective свежих agrees in number and case (genitive plural).
What’s the difference between с овощами and из овощей?
- с овощами (instrumental case) means “with vegetables”, indicating accompaniment.
- из овощей (genitive case) means “from vegetables”, indicating the vegetables are the material or main ingredients.
What tense and aspect is варится? Could you use a perfective form?
- Tense: present.
- Aspect: imperfective, describing an ongoing action (“is cooking”).
For a completed action you would use the perfective свариться, e.g. in the past: “Суп сварился” = “The soup has been cooked.”
Can you change the word order? For example: Суп варится в кастрюле из свежих овощей. Does it change the meaning?
Yes, Russian word order is flexible. All versions convey the same core meaning. Shifting elements only changes emphasis:
- В кастрюле... highlights where first.
- Суп варится... highlights what (the soup) first.
Where is the stress in варится and свежих?
- варится: stress on the second syllable – ва-РИ-тся
- свежих: stress on the first syllable – СВЕ-жих